- NEWS & COMMENTARY
Opposition continues despite new Boy Scout policy
In 2001, Temple Israel of Hollywood (TIOH) overwhelmingly decided to end its sponsorship of Cub Scout Pack 1300 to protest the Boy Scouts of America’s (BSA) policy banning openly gay…
Jews should get offended
If there’s one thing the Palestinians are great at, it’s saying no. For years now, many peace-loving Jewish heads have been bruised from banging against the brick wall of Palestinian rejectionism.
NSA and JEW
If you ever needed a sign that Jews feel fully integrated and accepted by society, consider this: Not one major Jewish group made a peep over the revelations of National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance.
- HOLLYWOOD
“Curb” star Jeff Garlin spends two days in jail following parking lot confrontation
Actor Jeff Garlin ("Curb Your Enthusiasm") was released from a Van Nuys jail yesterday, at approximately 7:30 a.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) website. An incident…
‘Man of Steel’ screenwriter David S. Goyer on Superman and religion
“People are always so quick to point out the Christ allegory in “The Man of Steel” but Superman has always struck me as a combination of Old Testament and New…
Superman is a Jewish Fantasy
This past week my wife surprised me with tickets to the new Superman movie “Man of Steel” for my birthday. So late Saturday night, we sat in a packed movie…
- LIFE & CULTURE
Archie Comics feature film in the works
Archie comics lovers, rejoice!
Israel’s SodaStream inks deal with KitchenAid
The Israeli company SodaStream agreed to develop a home system for making carbonated drinks for KitchenAid appliances.
Barbra Streisand receives Honorary Doctorate from The Hebrew University
Barbra Streisand, after receiving an honorary doctorate from The Hebrew University, stands in front of the plaque of the Institute of Jewish Studies Building, established in 1984 in honor of…
- BLOGS
Summer Peaches Are Here
I always figured peaches were a super sugary fruit as they are so darn good. But it is not so. Peaches: are often less than 100 calories, making them a…
The Power of Language: Cultivating Positive Emotions
Language affects the heart. When we’re surrounded by others who speak negatively, it can really affect our mood and disposition. Are we aware of how much negative language there is…
Attention Forward: We Aren’t That Radical
It has been said that most of us believe newspaper reporting to be generally accurate, until we read an article on a subject with which we are intimately familiar. It…
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London Orthodox, non-Jews face off over planning laws
Non-Jewish residents of the heavily haredi Orthodox-populated London neighborhood of Hackney have launched a campaign to prevent Orthodox Jews from changing city planning regulations.
Is Drake my Dream Man?
Jewish ‘Neighborhood’ Chronicler Wins Zócalo Book Prize
How well do you know your neighbors?
The Magic of Mimouna
Mimouna represented the love and intimacy of a neighborhood. There's nothing like popping in to see 10, 20, 30 different neighbors on the same night, most of whom you see all the time -- especially when you know your great-great-great-grandparents probably did the same thing in the same place.
Chasids in the Hood (or Not)
This, for me, is the Chabad genius: a knack on the deed, not the talk. They don't get turned on by grand debates that lead to more grand debates. While the Jewish world agonizes over "profoundly important" issues, Chabad agonizes over getting to Kinko's on time to get their flyers out for their Chanukah event.
Mayor implores people of faith to fight homelessness
"Homelessness is curable and we must cure it," Leo Baeck Senior Rabbi Kenneth Chasen said in his welcoming remarks. "Jews know too well the experience of being strangers and outsiders. We have lived in countless places where there were no homes for us."
In the ‘hood, the treat is no trick
Halloween is seen as the crowning achievement of secular emptiness. You celebrate, glorify, trivialize and idolize something as deep and holy as death, and in return, your kids get to gorge on KitKats and day-glow jawbreakers.
Life in the ‘hood: Gino Tortorella, hairdresser to the Jews
There's no question that Gino's got a thing for Jews. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that for the better part of 40 years, Jewish women have accounted for 90 percent to 95 percent of his hairdressing business.
Live from the ‘hood: we’re gonna party like it’s 5667
I can see going a little nuts on Purim, when we celebrate a seminal victory that saved the Jewish people, but going bananas on a day of Torah?
Sheinkin Street meets superhighway
Michael Simkin, CEO of C-Do Networks, believes that Sheinkin still retains enough of its eccentricity and bustle to perpetuate its mythic status.
Pico-Robertson: Live in the Hood
David and Deena Brandes didn't need the drama of a fire to know they were surrounded by an extended family.
Live in the hood: ‘last time the shoulder no good’
If you want to get the full flavor of the Pico-Robertson neighborhood, there's no better season than this time of year.
A ‘Nice’ Idea Blossoms Into a Group of ‘Niceaholics’
"I realized that if you have the ability to help other people, you're in a pretty good place," says Debbie Tenzer. "It's not always easy, because basically, we're selfish creatures, many of us struggling every day. We have to make a choice, and it starts by doing just one nice thing."
Chabad Expands in Vegas
The new shul is a testament to the Jewish community's growth in the area, which already houses another equally large Chabad campus close to the Las Vegas Strip.
Welcome to the Neighborhood
Like most L.A. residents, we've moved many times over the years. From Santa Monica to Culver City, Marina del Rey and then Westwood, it's not easy to pick up and move 10 or 20 miles with everything you own. At least, that's how we felt until a little over a year ago, when we made the 7,582-mile move to Jerusalem.
Memories and Music
In Los Angeles, as in other American cities where Jews have moved out en masse from their old neighborhoods, they not only left dwellings behind, they also left behind synagogues, social centers, stores and street corners that connected them to a certain time in their lives and to a particular era in their collective past.
Hancock Park Infighting Escalates
Smoldering tensions between the Orthodox community and other Hancock Park residents, many of them also Jewish, are heating up anew, as a battle over neighborhood architecture has divided along lines of religious affiliation.
Letters
The funniest part of your recent Purim issue was the article on Rabbi Aron Tendler's departure from Shaarey Zedek Congregation ("Tendler Resigns Under Cloud," March 10). In lieu of any substance, it was filled with rumors and speculation -- a hilarious send-up of real journalism!
Shul’s Stormy Saga
Etz Chaim, for its part, is arguing that the settlement is valid, that it did not violate the settlement and, that, in any case, federal law exempts it from zoning regulations.
Big Sunday Gets Big Boost From City
Corporate, private and organizational donors underwrite the day, including Temple Israel. The budget this year is $450,000. The city's participation will include providing security, busing and street closures. Additional donors are both welcomed and needed, Levinson said.
Wandering Jew - A Nosh of the Big Apple
At one point the neighborhood was considered so dangerous, people were afraid to walk the streets at night, but now it is experiencing something of a renaissance among Jews and non-Jews alike.
We had no idea if we would be the only ones to brave the cold and damp but were pleasantly surprised; about 30 people made up our tour.
Yaelle and Nouriel Cohen: Kindness Starts at Home
The Cohens understand desperation. Eight years ago, Nouriel's beauty supply business went under, and the family had to give up their Beverly Hills home. He hasn't had steady employment since then and has had to rely on his parents and family to get by.
Zagat for Dating
Here in Los Angeles, our services are more important than our dates. (I learned this the hard way by dating my mechanic's assistant -- a budding screenwriter -- and soon had to find a new mechanic. Not worth it.)
Bike the Big Apple
Chasidic Williamsburg, Roosevelt Island and Long Island City are easily navigable by bicycle, but given New York's frenetic pace, you might prefer an expert take you there.
7 Days in The Arts
7 Days in the Arts
Briefs
The Brief, news from around Los Angeles
‘Down’ on the Valley
To capture flat Valley spaces that retain old West emptiness, Jacobson decided to shoot the movie in anamorphic widescreen. But while scouting locations, he discovered the kind of childhood scenarios he remembered had moved to the North Valley.
Remembering Tibor
After the war, Tibor Reis was caught helping Jews escape to Austria, and was put into a Russian prison for three years. Although he was tortured, he never revealed the names of those working with him.
Get ‘Wicked’ in the Windy City
More than 2.77 million Chicagoans work, live and play in nearly 100 distinctive neighborhoods, divided by ethnicity, class and geography.
East of Western— a Kosher Cornucopia
Kosher east of Western? Out here on the edge of the eruv that runs along Western Avenue (the pole-top strung boundary that allows traditional Jews to carry on Shabbat), I live with my family in an old area of Los Angeles a few miles west of downtown called Country Club Park.
Rocket Threat Casts Shadow on Kibbutz
Kibbutz Nir'am, which is slightly closer to the Gaza Strip than Sderot, seemed dead that morning. The air was hot, harsh and still. Hardly anybody was outdoors.
Irvine Orthodox Plan to Erect Eruv
Sean Samuels, a Beth Jacob board member, was instrumental in the quest to erect Irvine's eruv, which should be operational by Rosh Hashanah.
Jewish Arsonist Worked for Paris Center
Paris police say a 52-year-old Jewish man arrested Monday morning in connection with the Aug. 22 torching of the Judaeo-Spanish social center in the capital's 11th district is the principal suspect in the arson.
Building Dignity
Overlooking bruised thumbs, sore muscles and sunburns, by week's end the construction crew will bubble excitedly over their measurable progress that began with a bare foundation, said Thayne Smith, construction director for Orange County's Habitat for Humanity.
Back to Breed Street
"Boyle Heights was the Ellis Island of Los Angeles," said City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa at the Breed Street Shul Open Day on Sunday, Aug. 22. "And this shul was the mother of all synagogues."
But the "mother of all synagogues," which opened in 1923, was abandoned by its few remaining congregants in 1996, and left to molder away -- unused and unprotected from the elements -- in Boyle Heights, a primarily Latino neighborhood.
Until now.
A Day on the Bimah Changes Everything
No, you didn't have to leave New York to discover Jewish observance, but something had to plant the desire. In my case, it was my bar mitzvah.
Hatzolah Expands Emergency Service
After midnight one Sunday last December, Motty Stock found his wife, Freda, unconscious on the bedroom floor. He picked up two phones and simultaneously called 911 and Hatzolah, an all-volunteer emergency first-response service.
Shabbat in Jerusalem
Hospitality is the rule and guests are considered a blessing. I never lacked invitations for Shabbat dinners and lunches as a single person, but I also loved hosting.
Irvine Campus Set for Grand Opening
The Bermans and Michaels expect their daily routines and social lives will alter substantially mid-August because of membership in the county's greatly expanded Jewish Community Center (JCC), relocated in Irvine.
A New Relationship
It's been six months since I relocated for work, "taking a break" from the love of my life, Los Angeles.
Neighbors Renew Etz Chaim Fight
Despite continuing legal challenges, members of Etz Chaim this month prayed for the first few Shabbats in their new home, a house converted for use as a shul on the corner of Highland Avenue and Third Street in Hancock Park.
Folk Singer Observes a Pensive ‘Holiday’
Some years ago, folk diva Chava Alberstein discovered the rundown immigrant neighborhood around the south Tel Aviv central bus station. For the Israeli superstar, the area became a refuge, a place to stroll or sip coffee unmolested by fans. The residents were foreign workers from countries such as China, Thailand, Nigeria and Romania.
But as their numbers swelled to replace Palestinians after the intifada, Alberstein -- considered Israel's Joan Baez -- saw conditions deteriorating.
"These people are brought to Israel, their passports are confiscated so they can't go anywhere and they're forced to live in the worst situations," she said. "You see people crawling out of the most unbelievable hovels. It's bothered me for a long time."
Arabs, Jews Mix at Haifa Holiday Festival
Thousands of Jews and Arabs fill the winding stone alleyways of a Haifa neighborhood, sampling latkes, roasted chestnuts and pastries dripping in honey at a coexistence festival to mark the holidays of Chanukah, Christmas and Ramadan.
Westside Jews Divided on Recall
Exploring the Pico-Robertson neighborhood, where Republicans once were the smallest of minorities, I happened upon a nest of recall supporters who were also great admirers of President Bush. Talking to them, I got a sense of the changing politics of Los Angeles' Jewish community, where votes can no longer be taken for granted.
They were students of Netan Eli High School, seated around a table in the lunch-room, talking politics. I'd happened on the school the previous afternoon while looking for people to interview about the Oct. 7 election. I introduced myself to Rabbi Sholom D. Weil, the principal, and general studies principal Avi Erblich, and they were nice enough to set up a meeting with students.
Bombings Damage Peace Plan Further
Two suicide bombings struck the Jewish State Tuesday, killing at least 15 victims and wounding dozens. The two attacks left the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan in tatters and marked a new surge of deadly violence in the nearly 3-year-old intifada.
Summer Tzedakah
The rabbis say that the world stands on three things: learning, prayer and righteous deeds.
New Rabbi Hopes More Families Enjoy Sun, Surf, Shabbat at PJC
The Pacific Jewish Center (PJC) has been a Venice beach landmark for the past 60 years. Always a Traditional or Orthodox congregation, PJC has been on the fringes of the larger Orthodox centers in Pico-Robertson and Hancock Park -- and a few miles too far west for some.
Star of the Canyon
The only store nestled in the verdant Laurel Canyon, Canyon Country Store, built in 1919, has served as a location for several films and is also a hangout for many artists, musician and actors.
Shuk Shopping
Elbows out. That was the lesson that began my initiation into the ways of Valley Produce market in Reseda.
A Big Sunday
Renamed Big Sunday to represent the eclecticism of its volunteers, the fifth annual day of community service will take place this year on Sunday, May 4.
‘Raising’ the Bar on Teen Comedies
Peter Sollett's ebullient romantic comedy, "Raising Victor Vargas," about Hispanic teens in the East Village, began as a short film about, well, himself.
Culture Shot
The Filipino owners of an Asian restaurant at work. A glimpse of Thai worshippers praying inside a Buddhist temple. A man perusing an
Armenian bookstore.
Joining ‘Gangs’ to Work With the Best
When the now-legendary film director Martin Scorsese first discovered Herbert Asbury's book, "Gangs of New York," in 1970 and decided to make it into a film, Rick Schwartz was a 2-year-old growing up in a modern Orthodox home in Teaneck, N.J.
Builder to Fashion a Lofty Downtown
Mark Weinstein can barely contain his excitement. Standing on the roof of a historic downtown building in the heart of the Fashion District, the boyish-looking developer points to a group of surrounding structures, his voice rising with excitement.
Up a Tree Looking for a Home
My family and I are eager to move to Los Angeles from Seattle, but I've got a problem: We are Orthodox and we like trees.
Do Jewish Schools Make Good Neighbors?
Local schools are anything but a deterrent for those interested in the community, said Meredith Michen of Landmark Realtors, which services the Pico-Robertson area. "Most of the people who move to that area think it's a good thing to have the schools there," said Michen, adding that Pico-Robertson real estate prices are affected by demand, not by the schools in the area.
The Battle Over Mesivta
The protracted court case, which is now awaiting an environmental impact report (EIR) from the school, shows how badly a school building project can go when met with fiery opposition by the surrounding community.
Secession: Rolling the Dice With Public Safety
Any experienced law-enforcement professional knows that coordination and communication make all the difference in a complex case or threat situation.
Calling It Like It Is
Not long ago, we were invited to friends for Shabbat lunch. They'd recently moved into a new apartment, in more or less the same neighborhood, and over the course of conversation, someone asked them how they liked the new location. Our hostess, a refined and relatively private person, said that she liked the new location much better. She mentioned a number of reasons, following which she added that from the new apartment, they didn't hear as much of the shooting at Gilo during the night. "And in the old place," she added as a kind of afterthought, "I just couldn't stand making love to the sound of gunfire."
Chandler Busway:Round Two
A proposed busway continued to spark fierce debate during two public hearings held in the San Fernando Valley during the last weeks of June.
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